Not FINNISHed Yet: Taking on Tampere (pronounced Tam-peh-reh)

Rakkaat ystävät,

Serving in Tampere is the life I always dreamed of. Well, not exactly, I actually wanted to go to Helsinki. BUT, that's only because I didn't know how much cooler Tampere is. I'm in a dream!

First off, we've got a beautiful chapel. The original burned down a few years back, so this one is pretty new. And it's huge. And a chapel means church tours and YSA activities and a family history center and so many other things we can invite people to.

Second, buses. I forgot how awesome buses are. I've even missed the adrenaline rush that you get when you have to run to catch it just in time. They are great for contacting (which I'm still terrible at haha) and make that 8 o'clock no-door-contacting time way more bearable when we don't have set lessons.

The big city vibe. I didn't realize how much I loved it until I was back in the throng. There are tons of people and so many new places to explore. Not to mention, more free public restrooms than in the small towns.

Sisar Johnston. She is a rockstar. She is a great missionary and super funny. We get along really well, and are already really good friends. Also, she discovered that I snort when I laugh and she still loves me.

We have awesome work going on here and plenty to do. This last week we found two new investigators. One is a young man originally from the Middle East who has lived here for 11 years. He's super interested and willing to do the things we ask him to do. Our first lesson with him was probably one of the best first lessons I've ever taught. We talked with him about Jesus Christ, because he doesn't have a super solid background understanding. When we testified of the Atonement, the Spirit was so strong and you could tell that he felt it. We committed him right away to read the Book of Mormon and pray, and it sounds like he will be able to come to church next week.

The second is an older woman, probably in her 50s or 60s, who has cancer and is struggling to find happiness. We taught her yesterday and she was so cute. She told us how lonely she is and how hard her life has been, and she was just eating up our attention and love. This gospel will change her life, and she is pretty interested to gain faith in Jesus Christ. We have another appointment with her on Thursday.

I'm loving life in Tampere and am super excited to serve here. I'm so blessed :)

Keep calm and stay shiny!

Rakkaudella,

Sisar Hillebrant